Chemicals and Energy from Wood

Forest Products Bio-oil Program Attains Critical Mass

Scientists embarked more than two years ago on a campaign to create a new industry for Mississippi based on production of bio energy and chemicals from wood biomass. A fast-pyrolysis reactor to produce bio-oil has been developed for research purposes. Bio-oil is a dark chemically rich, liquid developed from condensed pyrolysis vapors. Pyryolysis, is the thermal decomposition of biomass in the absence of oxygen. The effort to convert Mississippi timber resources into transportation fuels and value-added chemicals from bio-oil is supported through MSU’s Sustainable Energy Center. The Bio-Oil Thrust area of MSU’s Sustainable Research Center includes faculty from the departments of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Forest Products. The faculty in all four MSU departments have been performing research in bio-oil for three years. New equipment, sorely needed to produce, treat and analyze bio-oil is being acquired. In addition to utilization of timber biomass, scientists are testing agricultural crops and residues as feed stock.
Mississippi State University